Phantoms of Fall (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 2) (16 page)

“No man in his right mind would be late for a date
with you,” he said and kissed me softly on the lips. “I thought
about you every night while I was in my cell.” Then he gave
me a sexy wink.

Was he talking about what I thought he was talking
about? I mean, really, what did prisoners do in their beds at
night when the only option for a date was their own hand? If
that
was what he meant, I was flattered beyond all compare.
That was something guys did while “reading” skin mags—not
while thinking about their own girlfriends, right? Friday night
suddenly seemed years away.

Two hours
of studying
with
Zach was
delicious
torture. As we huddled around my desk together, I could see
that he was having trouble concentrating.
And trust me, it
wasn’t a one-sided problem.
With him sitting so close, I
almost forgot how to add let alone solve equations. I gave him
a sample problem to do and then waited for him to finish it.
In the meantime, I couldn’t help myself—I totally sat there
checking him out.

We’d been dating for months now but I still marveled
at the fact that the Norse god seated beside me was actually
my boyfriend.
Guys like him were rare.
How did I get so
lucky? And after Friday night, things would only get better. I
could feel the smile forming on my face just thinking about it.
And seriously, was the room getting hotter or what?
He
caught
me
staring
at
him
and
I
looked
away
in
embarrassment.

“Hey, don’t be so shy—I like it when you check me out.
It reminds me that I’m not the only one who feels this way.”
And then I felt his hand on my leg, the heat burning through
my jeans and into my thigh.

He didn’t want me to be shy, huh? Coming right up.
After all of those nights of him pushing me away at a crucial
moment, I was relieved to finally have him invite me to make
a move. I returned the favor and put my hand on his leg, too.
Within seconds, my hand felt like it was on fire.
A fire I
wanted to consume me. Seriously, was it Friday night yet?

He must have read my mind. “I can’t wait until
Friday—it’s going to be a night we’ll both remember for the
rest of our lives.”

It certainly would be. “Do you need me to do
anything—or bring anything?” I didn’t just want to assume
that he would take care of the details but the thought of
having to walk into the store and buy condoms myself was
more nerve wracking than my driver’s test was.

His eyes sparkled back at me. “Nope, all I need is you.”

Of course not a lot of studying got done after that.
It
was almost ten anyway so we spent the rest of our time
together kissing instead. We couldn’t do anything more with
Dad and Shelly downstairs, but I certainly wanted to.
When I
finally had to let him go home, I decided to keep track of how
many hours were left until our date. Forty-six hours left as a
virgin. I could survive that much longer. I hope.

Thursday was a normal day. Normal for me, anyway.
Now that I knew her name, I was actually looking forward to
seeing Garnet.
As long as I could find a quiet spot, I could
have an actual conversation with her this time. I was doing
what she wanted me to do so things should be pretty smooth
between us. Of course, now that I was looking for her, she
was nowhere in sight. Ghosts are like boys—frustrating and
unpredictable.
The minute I thought I had them figured out,
they changed all of the rules. At least Zach and I were now
back on the same page. I could only handle one frustration at
a time, thank you.

I gave up on Garnet by the time I got to phys ed. Misty
wasn’t even a distraction for me, either. After my date with
Zach, she wouldn’t matter anymore. I hit the track like a girl
possessed and didn’t even look her direction. Sure, I could
feel her beady little eyes burning a hole in my back—who
cares? Zach is mine and by Monday morning she would have
to face that fact. It’s not like I was going to
tell
her we had sex
or anything. I was confident that she would just be able to
sense it.

When we got back to the locker room, I discovered a
newfound boldness. Normally showering in front of the other
girls was mortifying. But I was determined to let Misty see
that I wasn’t ashamed of my body—even though I definitely
still was. Once the water came to temperature, I undressed
and stepped in without fear. But I forgot that Misty wasn’t the
only one to fear in that room.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the water for a few
seconds and that’s when it happened. The water wasn’t water
anymore—it
was
no longer liquid but
more
like a thick,
gelatinous substance. As it spilled into my mouth, I caught a
taste of it. Warm and metallic. It was blood. I didn’t want to
open my eyes but I had to.

Pouring
from
the showerhead in
a heavy
stream,
everything was soon covered in it. The floor, the wall—me.
My entire body was stained crimson. Staying calm was the
smart thing to do so of course I did the exact opposite.
I
couldn’t help it—I screamed and flailed around trying to wipe
it away. Grabbing the handle, I tried to turn it off but instead
ended up pelting myself with an even heavier spray.

It didn’t matter where I was or who was watching—I
screamed repeatedly until my throat was raw. And then as
quickly as it came, it was gone. No blood—nothing but water
jetting out of the wall and swirling innocently down the drain.
Quickly, I wrapped myself in a towel and backed away from
the shower in horror. Twenty sets of eyes stared at me with a
mixed look of fear and curiosity. One pair, however, gave a
look of sublime satisfaction. If the situation were reversed, I
wouldn’t have looked at Misty the way she was looking at me.
Forget about Garnet—Misty
was
the true face of evil in that
room.

I sat down on the bench and slithered into my clothes
without removing my towel until I was done.
Coach Hunter
was still outside during my episode but came straight over to
me when she heard.

“Ruby, are you okay?” She kneeled down in front of
me and spoke quietly.

How was I going to answer her?
Was
I okay? Even
I
didn’t know that answer. But I definitely couldn’t tell her the
truth—that I was sure of.
When she told me to follow her to
her office, I knew I only had a moment to concoct what might
have to be my greatest lie yet.
Somehow, through intense
terror and humiliation, I was able to pull it off.

By the time I took a seat and she asked me what
happened, I knew exactly what I was going to say.
The best
part was that it wasn’t entirely a lie.

“I almost drowned over the summer—sometimes I
freak out around water. It’s unpredictable. I never know
when it’s going to hit.” One look at her face and I knew she
bought it. Today, I earned a gold star for lying.

“You should have told me about that sooner, Ruby. I
feel awful that I put you in such a traumatic situation.
No
more showers for you.” She looked truly sorry, like she
blamed herself for what happened.

“It’s okay. I didn’t say anything because I thought I
had it under control.” I couldn’t look her in the eyes so I
stared at the floor instead. “I guess I was wrong.”

“Is there anything I can do for you? If you want to skip
last period and go home right now, I’ll write you an excuse.”

As
bad as
I wanted to accept her offer, I didn’t.
Leaving now would only make me look like a big baby on top
of already looking like a freak. I shook my head. “No, I’ll be
alright. I’ll see you after school.”

She gave me a smile and told me I could leave. That
offer I did take. I ran out the door and into the nearest
restroom so I could be alone for just a few minutes before
math class.

I stood at the mirror and surveyed the damage.
My
hair got wet from all of my flailing and was starting to curl as
it dried.
Great.
Now I not only had to face the world as a
freak, but as a freak with curly hair. That was the last straw—
I
would
have
to
see
if
they
made
battery
powered
straighteners. While I was busy trying to salvage what I could
of my hair, I heard the squeak of the door as it opened.
Regardless of who it was, I didn’t want to be seen so I ducked
into the last stall and closed the door quietly behind me. It
was the best decision I’d made all day.

“OMG! She’s more of a freak than I even imagined!”

The voice belonged to Misty so I soundlessly crept as
far back toward the wall as I could. I couldn’t be discovered—
with the mood I was in, I was likely to punch her right in the
nose if I had to actually face her. It was obvious that she was
talking about me and I wanted to hear every word she had to
say.

“I know, right? But how are you going to use it to your
advantage?”

The second voice belonged to Jordyn, the evil minion.
I was never one to eavesdrop, but this was an opportunity I
couldn’t pass up. The last time I listened in on a conversation,
I got to hear Zach tell Boone how he felt about me. And with
as interesting as that discussion was, something told me this
one would top it. I was right.

“You’ll see. When my plan is in full effect, Zach will
never have sex with little Miss Virgin.”

Plan? What was she going to do to me? And seriously,
why was she so sure I was a virgin? Luckily, Jordyn asked her
for that very same answer.

“I don’t know, Misty, they’ve been together since
summer—they may have already sealed the deal.” For two
seconds, I had a drop
of respect for Jordyn.
Then
I
remembered that I had no respect for anyone who would be
friends with someone like Misty.

Anxiously waiting for her reply, I stood in the stall
barely breathing.
My heart pounded so loudly in my chest
that I was afraid they were going to hear it. She barely paused
before answering, but I would have sworn that hours had
passed.

“Definitely not. You’ve seen him—he’s volatile, a
ticking time bomb. He’s jealous and possessive because he’s
afraid that someone else could crack open that chastity belt of
hers before he gets a chance. He’s so sexually frustrated, he’s
about to burst. I just have to make sure he explodes on me
and not her.”

Great, just great.
Was it that obvious? Even if it was,
was it really my fault? It’s not like I wasn’t willing—I’d sent
him all of the signs, hadn’t I? Where this subject was
concerned, he was impossible to read.

“So what if you’re wrong and they actually have?
Would you still want to be with him?”

The sound of Misty’s laughter echoed off of the tiles
and bounced mockingly into my ear. It didn’t really matter
anyway—after our date
on Friday
night, everything
she
thought she knew about our relationship would be wrong. I
was tempted to march right out of that stall and give her a
piece of my mind. But I was a chicken at heart, so I stayed put
and listened for more.

“They haven’t—I’m positive of that. Zach’s the kind of
boy who will fall endlessly in love with the first girl he sleeps
with. I just have to make sure that girl is me. And after I’m
done with Ruby, that won’t be so hard to accomplish.”

My mouth dropped in disbelief. She was right—Zach’s
first time
was
important to him. If it weren’t, he would’ve
nailed Misty when he had the chance. She thought she was so
smart but what she didn’t know was that Zach and I were
having sex Friday night. Of course I definitely wanted to, but
now I knew I also
had
to. Since I knew who the ghost was,
ending the haunting would be a breeze and I wouldn’t have to
push him away. In fact, it was the exact opposite—I had to
draw him closer.

I was concentrating so hard on hearing every word of
their conversation that I almost peed myself when the sound
of the bell screeched through the restroom. When I heard the
squeak of the door, I knew they were gone but I waited a few
more minutes so they wouldn’t see me walk out after them. I
didn’t care if I was late for class—Misty couldn’t know I
overheard what was said.

Once I was sure they were far away from the door, I
opened the stall and stepped out. My reflection in the mirror
was as frightening as if I’d seen Garnet’s face staring back at
me. I was a wreck and suddenly my stomach was churning
violently. Sticking my head in the toilet, I ejected every ounce
of food out of my gut and instantly felt better. Misty may have
won the battle, but in twenty-nine hours, I would be winning
the war.

15. Lights, Camera…

When I got to math class, I realized something. Zach
was sure to hear about my phys ed freak out from someone
even if I didn’t tell him about it myself. For my sake, I had to
come clean with him.
Well, not exactly. I would tell him the
same story I told Coach Hunter and leave it at that. It would
explain why I looked so crappy and he wouldn’t question the
validity of it.
But since I was late, it would have to wait until
after class. One long, torturously boring class.

Watching the little hand on the clock tick away the
seconds, I could swear that for every ten seconds, the hand
actually slipped backwards by five—no joke.
The instant
class was over, Zach and I finally had a chance to talk.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?
You look absolutely
miserable.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed
me on the forehead.